Northwestern couldn't make an early 10-point lead hold up on Thursday (Dec. 8) night, as St. Croix Falls caught the Tigers from behind and went on for a 76-73 Heart O'North girls basketball victory.
The Tigers' advantage was trimmed down to 36-33 at the half.
Down the stretch, Northwestern got worn down inside, as St. Croix Falls 6-footers Lucy Belisle and Katie Cooper finished with 24 and 19 points, respectively. That also created openings on the outside, where Breanna McCurdy scored 20 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Northwestern was led by Kieryn Plasch. The Bemidji State recruit finished with a game-best 25 points, making three treys. She also had one of the best passing performances in school history with 11 assists.
Shayna Wick added 21 points for Northwestern (1-1, 1-1 HON).
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Crosby-Ironton 59, Esko 54
The Rangers outlasted the Eskomos in Esko behind 22 points from elite freshman Tori Oehrlein.
Kyra Johnson scored 11 points for the Eskomos.
Duluth Marshall 80, Duluth Denfeld 30
Seventh-grade phenom Chloe Johnson racked up 36 points, 10 rebounds and five assists as the Hilltoppers dominated down the hill in West Duluth.
Anna Saari also made a major contribution: the freshman was two steals short of a triple double: 16 points, 10 rebounds, eight steals and five assists.
Silver Bay 49, Carlton 47
Izzy Carey had a night to remember for the Mariners at home on Thursday. Not only did she score a game-high 22 points, Carey scored the game-winning basket at the buzzer as Silver Bay evened its record at 2-2 overall.
Danika Thompson added 19 points and two 3-pointers for Silver Bay.
For Carlton, Eliza DeCaigny and Megan Matarelli scored 18 points apiece.
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Proctor 58, Hermantown 39
The Rails set the tone early, scoring the first seven points en route to a Lake Superior Conference road win at Hermantown and getting their season off to a 5-0 start.
Floodwood 44, McGregor 23
The Polar Bears turned up the defensive pressure in the second half, allowing just six points. That helped Floodwood turn a tied game (17-17) at halftime into a comfortable victory in their home opener.
On the offensive end, Nakaiyah Nimene led all scorers with 16 and Kenzie Kiminski kicked in 12.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Two Harbors 97, Duluth Marshall 37
The Agates got four 3-pointers apiece from Trent Gomez and Isaiah Hietala in a blowout win.
Hietala finished 23 with points and Gomez 16.
Brooks Johnson led Marshall with 21 points.
Moose Lake/Willow River 68, Aitkin 37
Adam Neumann's 22 points for the Rebels kept the Gobblers at bay. Luke Dewey added 11 points for MLWR and Nolan Nelson 10.
GIRLS HOCKEY
Proctor/Hermantown 4, Grand Rapids/Greenway 1
The Mirage broke open a tight game with three unanswered goals in the third period for victory in an early high-profile matchup at the IRA Civic Center.
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Reese Heitzman (Proctor/Hermantown) and Kylie DeBay (Grand Rapids/Greenway) exchanged goals in the first period and the deadlock remained into the second intermission. However, Jane Eckstrom made the first move, scoring just 13 seconds after the opening faceoff of the third period. Izy Fairchild made it 3-1 just 83 seconds later and Ava Anick scored unasssisted at 9:48 of the third period.
Neelah McLeod made 21 saves for the winners, which broke a 16-game regular-season scoring streak for GRG's Mercury Bischoff. Samantha Baratto made 22 for Grand Rapids/Greenway.
Cloquet-Esko-Carlton 3, Hibbing/Chisholm 0
Two early goals from Emma Parks were more than enough for the Lumberjacks to bust a seven-game winless streak and nab their first 'W' of 2022-23.
The sophomore had CEC (1-6-1) up 2-0 by the 6:42 mark, and the defense largely shut the game down from there, allowing only nine shots through to goaltender Araya Kiminski, who stopped them all.
Grace McDowell made 33 saves for the Bluejackets (4-4).
BOYS HOCKEY
Duluth Marshall 8, Mora/Milaca 1
The Hilltoppers had an offensive outburst, as Henry Drevnick, Landon Hernesman and Pierce Gouin all scored two goals apiece in a dominant home victory, their first of the season, at Mars Lakeview Arena.
Brendan Friday was the main distributor, scoring once but dishing out four assists. Seven Hilltoppers had at least two points, with Gouin finishing with two goals and two assists and Oden Brunette collecting three assists.
Landon Wheeler was the winning goalie with 14 saves.
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WRESTLING
Superior 60, Ashland 22
Four Spartans won by pin in a dual at Ashland on Thursday.
Isaiah Essien prevailed at 170 pounds in 2:23, while it took Connor Kreuger just 41 seconds to get the job done at 138. Joshua Johnson won in 1:53 at 145 pounds and Jason Thomas claimed his victory in 2:31.
The Oredockers also won four contested matches, three by pin and a fourth via major decision.
PREP SCOREBOARD
BOYS BASKETBALL
Two Harbors 97, Duluth Marshall 37
Mountain Iron-Buhl 93, Cook County 21
Proctor 74, Mesabi East 38
GIRLS BASKETBALL
St. Croix Falls 76, Northwestern 73
Crosby/Ironton 59, Esko 54
Duluth Marshall 80, Duluth Denfeld 30
Silver Bay 49, Carlton 47
Floodwood 44, McGregor 23
Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 76, Cherry 36
BOYS HOCKEY
Hayward 5, North Shore 1
Cloquet-Esko-Carlton 6, Duluth Denfeld 1
Duluth Marshall 8, Mora/Milaca 1
GIRLS HOCKEY
Proctor/Hermantown 4, Grand Rapids/Greenway 1
Cloquet-Esko-Carlton 3, Hibbing/Chisholm 0
WRESTLING
Superior 60, Ashland 22
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